State  s  Newer 


California 

'gional 

cility 


c 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Mrs.  Ben  B.  Lindsey 


The 

State's  Newer 
Ideals 


By 

Kate  Campbell  Robertson 

(f\rs.  G.  H.  Robertson) 


Inspired  by  the  Memory  of  rare 
Parents :  a  Father  Versed  in  Litera- 
ture and  Statecraft;  a  Mother  Who 
Lived  in  Unfaltering  Touch  With 
the  Infinite, 

AND 
LOVINGLY  DEDICATED 

TO 

MY  SONS 
FOUR  EMBRYO  STATESMEN 


Modern  aristocracy,  the  new  aris- 
tocrarcy,  has  still  to  be  discovered 
and  understood.  It  is  not  a  question 
of  blood  but  of  character. 


Fear  is  a  great  limitation;  under 
the  new  order  there  will  be  no  fear. 


What  men  need  above  all  in  this 
day  is  more  wisdom,  more  discre- 
tion in  the  use  of  life. 


Some  one  has  said:  "We  need 
more  leisure  to  study  psychological 
problems;  an  invisible  world  lies 
near  us,  that  might  become  visible 
if  we  had  time  from  the  struggle  for 
bread  to  study  it.  It  calls  to  us  with 
its  wonders  and  opportunities.  If  we 
would  embrace  in  our  government 
the  principles  of  ethics  we  have  al- 
ready learned,  and  let  the  Golden 
Rule  become  the  order  of  state  poli- 
cy, we  would  have  a  foundation 
from  which  to  reach  upward  to  un- 
dreamed of  spheres.  Thus  an  op- 
portunity for  limitless  living  would 
be  attained. 


1122164 


A  state  without  divisions  or  fac- 
tions, where  co-operation  and  not 
competition  is  the  order  of  thought, 
means  a  state  of  strength,  beauty, 
happiness,  power. 


That  state  is  strongest  whose  parts 
or  individual  members  possess  a 
living  interest  in  the  whole. 


"The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at 
hand,"  were  the  most  practical 
words  of  The  Master  Statesman. 


All  the  kindness  shown  from  Cap- 
ital to  Labor  or  from  Labor  to  Cap- 
ital will  avail  nothing  towards 
bringing  satisfaction;  the  divine  Ego 
in  each  individual  must  have  its  di- 
vine right  to  be  answerable  only  to 
its  State  and  Nation,  which  stands 
for  God  on  earth. 


INDEX. 

Page 
Introduction    7 

1.  The  State,  the  Over-Parent 11 

2.  Love,  not  Force,  for  the  Criminal....  15 

3.  Progressive  Legislation 21 

4.  Remedy  for  the  Daily  Grind 25 

5.  Different  View  Points 31 

6.  Attempt  to  Socialize  Germany 37 

7.  Socialism,  Anarchy  and  Love 42 

8.  Organization 47 

9.  A  Last  Word....  ..  54 


INTRODUCTION. 

Some  years  ago  when  I  had  com- 
pleted the  work  in  my  nursery,  and 
my  own  healthy,  well  nurtured  cher- 
ubims  had  been  safely  located  in 
the  school  room,  I  turned  my  atten- 
tion to  the  study  of  conditions  sur- 
rounding other  children  in  our 
community.  My  life  had  been,  for 
about  fourteen  years,  an  entirely 
domestic  one.  Shut  in  by  the  four 
walls  of  my  home  with  my  jolly,  fat, 
baby  boys  I  had  not  had  time  to 
think  that  the  whole  world  was  not 
as  gay  and  prosperous  as  my  envir- 
onment. So  it  was  with  horror  and 
amazement  that  I  found  families  of 
bare  footed,  half  fed,  untaught 
children  almost  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  my  own  neighborhood. 
That  was  six  years  ago,  and  the  con- 
dition of  childhood,  in  our  commu- 
nity at  that  time,  was  deplorable. 
Those  who  worked  with  me  in  the 
crude  charity  organizations  of  which 
our  town  then  boasted,  will  echo 
these  words. 

7 


After  working  for  some  years  and 
setting  on  foot  the  Tennessee  Branch 
of  the  Congress  of  Mothers  and 
striving  to  make  popular  the  Parent- 
Teachers  Clubs  in  the  Public  School, 
I  discovered  that  things  we  wanted 
to  do  would  come  easier  if  mothers 
and  women  in  general  had  the  use 
of  the  ballot;  I  worked  for  awhile 
along  this  line,  but  now  see  that  the 
system  of  government  hampers  and 
keeps  us  back  in  the  dark  ages  of 
selfishness  and  poverty  and  strife; 
and  I  want  to  hammer  away  awhile 
on  this  line  of  thought,  for  a  new 
system  will  mean  everything  to  the 
children  and  women  as  well  as  the 
men.  Women  will,  as  equal  citizens 
and  actors  in  the  State,  get  the  ballot 
and  much  more  than  the  ballot. 

We  often  hear  it  said  that  "human 
nature  does  not  change  much," 
when  the  fact  is  we  do  not  change 
our  systems  (political  and  social) 
to  keep  pace  with  human  changes. 
Human  nature  can  not  show  its 
growth  with  an  antiquated  wall 
around  it  that  was  its  suitable  pro- 

8 


tection  in  years  that  have  passed. 

Let  us  keep  up  with  human  chang- 
es and  change  the  selfish  system  to 
one  of  unselfishness  and  the  system 
of  gain  to  a  system  of  service  that 
will  be  in  harmony  with  the  spirit- 
ual growth  of  our  times. 

— K.  C.  R. 


(Do  not  confuse  the  word  social- 
ism with  any  party; — to  "socialize" 
a  State  is  to  make  it  the  property 
and  concern  of  all  members  of  that 
State.) 


There  was  a  time  when  we  believ- 
ed that  the  man  was  made  for  the 
state.  That  time  has  gone,  save 
from  the  minds  of  a  few  statesmen 
of  the  old  school,  who  believe  in 
clinging  to  dead  timber.  The  old 
idea  was  that  the  child  was  made  to 
serve  the  parent;  we  know  today 
that  the  parent  is  to  serve  the  child; 
the  state  to  serve  its  citizens. 

Let  us  step  into  the  new  regime 
boldly,  feeling  with  confidence  that 
the  new  is  better  than  the  old.  He 
who  clings  to  old  ways  when  new 
and  better  ones  have  made  their 
appearance  is  old  and  decrepit,  no 
matter  what  his  years  may  be;  and 
he  who  goes  with  martial  step  into 
the  ranks  of  the  leaders  of  the  new- 
er ideals  is  young  even  though  he 
count  his  years  threescore  and  ten. 
Keep  young,  friends,  by  keeping 
your  minds  polished  and  shining 
and  ready  to  reflect  if  not  to  origi- 
nate the  newest  and  best. 

11 


When  we  say  that  the  state  is 
made  for  the  man,  we  mean  that  the 
state  is  to  serve  man,  not  punish 
him;  that  the  state  is  the  great  care- 
taker of  its  citizens,  the  weak  and 
the  strong,  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
the  aged  and  the  young,  the  willful 
and  the  obedient. 

The  state  is  the  over-parent  ready 
to  serve  and  conserve,  ready  to  train 
and  protect  its  children. 

The  old  way  ran  something  like 
this:  A  man  has  committed  a 
crime.  Hark!  A  terrible  thing  has 
taken  place;  make  a  great  noise 
about  it!  State,  call  out  your  blood- 
hounds, run  him  into  a  corner,  beat 
him,  drub  him,  take  his  liberty 
away  from  him,  that  is  not  enough 
—take  his  very  life  itself !  You  have 
dragged  him  into  the  court  room — 
now  point  your  finger  at  him,  tell 
the  jury  that  there  never  was  such 
an  infamous  scoundrel  on  the  face 
of  the  earth  before,  that  he  is  a 
menace  to  his  state,  that  he  is  not  fit 
to  live  with  his  kind;  take  him,  drag 
him  into  a  cell  and  there  keep  him. 

12 


All  because  he  has  done  one  thing 
unlawful.  No  good  to  humanity,  of 
no  use  to  the  world!  Sometimes 
when  I  have  listened  to  the  speech 
of  the  prosecutor  I  have  wondered 
that  the  vision  of  the  Master  did  not 
float  betwen  his  face  and  the  jurors 
whom  he  addressed  and  whisper 
the  words  said  long  ago:  "Let  him 
who  is  without  sin  cast  the  first 
stone."  Yet  even  as  the  prisoner, 
crushed  and  humiliated,  hangs  his 
head,  the  prosecutor's  head  goes  up 
and  he  exclaims  in  a  loud  voice  as 
if  he  were  proud  of  his  diabolical 
work:  "I  have  won.*' 

"Won,"  have  you,  friend?  "Won" 
what?  There  is  no  victory  unless 
your  work  is  according  to  nature's 
constructive  plan;  and  chagrin,  hu- 
miliation or  mortification  heaped 
upon  a  fellow-man,  anything  that 
crushes  or  disheartens  another  is 
against  the  Natural  Order  of  Life 
and  is  a  crime. 

The  statesman  with  the  newer 
ideals  will  do  away  with  the  old 
order.  He  will  not  only  know  Na- 

13 


ture's  Plan,  but  have  the  courage  to 
step  out  as  its  advocate.  Given 
enough  of  these  men  and  the  old 
order  of  punishment  and  force  and 
crushing  out  of  pride  will  be  gone, 
for  the  statesman  of  the  newer 
ideals  will  only  call  it  a  victory  when 
he  has  made  the  wrong-doer  hold  up 
his  head  and  look  him  in  the  eye  and 
say  to  him :  "I  will  sin  no  more;  my 
self-respect  has  been  restored;  you 
have  taught  me  to  love  my  state;  no 
more  can  I  sin  against  it."  Oh,  for 
100  such  Tennesseans! 

The  state  that  adopts  the  newer 
ideals  will  have  no  more  human 
bloodhounds  to  use  their  natural 
gifts  against  Nature's  Plan — but 
friends  of  humanity  will  take  their 
places,  that  will  not  tear  down  what 
is  left  of  a  weak  life,  but  construct 
and  build  according  to  the  Great 
Plan,  in  which  patience  and  kind- 
ness and  brotherhood  is  the  law. 


14 


II. 

We  were  discussing  in  last  article 
the  new  method  of  handling  our 
criminals.  We  were  suggesting  that 
they  needed  to  be  befriended  more 
than  condemned  and  punished.  Now 
the  question  is,  shall  we  follow  the 
law  absolutely  when  not  best  for  the 
offender  or  shall  we  consider  his 
welfare  first  and  seek  to  change  the 
law? 

"Oh"  we  hear  the  old-time  states- 
man exclaim,  "but  we  must  uphold 
the  law."  The  masses  echo — "Up- 
hold the  law!" 

Of  course,  be  very  careful  about 
the  shell  of  the  egg,  it  makes  no  dif- 
ference about  the  meat,  the  kernel  of 
the  nut  is  valueless,  we  will  put  all 
the  stress  on  the  outside.  The  letter 
of  the  law  is  of  course  vastly  more 
important  than  the  spirit  of  mercy, 
justice  and  truth — be  sure  you  do 
not  sacrifice  the  former  for  the  lat- 
ter. 

Pardon  this  bit  of  sarcasm.     Ser- 

15 


iously,  friends — how  did  the  court  of 
equity  originate?  Blackstone  de- 
fines this  court  as  one  serving  as  "a 
correction  of  that  wherein  the  law, 
by  reason  of  its  universality,  is  defi- 
cient." As  a  matter  of  fact  it  is  a 
court  wherein  real  justice  is  the 
order.  It  is  the  crowning  peak  on 
the  great  legal  pyramid.  This  pyr- 
amid was  built  by  the  greater  minds 
of  the  ages.  Looking  back  we  find 
laws  were  made  long,  long  ago — a 
long  while  before  even  women  were 
considered  people.  These  old  laws 
were  the  best  that  the  minds  of  that 
day  could  conceive  of — they  served 
in  their  day  beautifully,  they  repre- 
sented the  conception  of  justice  and 
truth  of  their  time — no  age  can  ask 
more.  But  as  time  grew  they  be- 
came inadequate.  New  minds  plac- 
ed new  blocks  upon  the  legal  pyr- 
amid. It  has  grown  into  a  great 
structure,  ponderous,  heavy,  almost 
immovable,  yet  growing,  each  year 
seeing  additions  that  force  the  old 
into  disuse.  The  time  has  come  for 
a  new  block  in  the  pyramid;  we  may 

16 


be  nearing  the  apex,  who  knows? 
Some  one  will  lay  the  new  stone — 
who  will  it  be?  The  old  stones  are 
getting  musty  and  out  of  date  and 
when  this  is  true  the  new  and  clean 
is  not  far.  Some  one  of  great  mind, 
great  will,  great  courage,  will  place 
the  new  block  on  top.  Our  young 
thinker  shakes  his  head — "all  very 
true — all  very  beautiful — but  had  it 
ever  occurred  to  you,"  he  says,  "that 
one  must  'make  a  living'?"  He 
means  of  course  that  the  dreamer 
dares  only  to  dream  of  reform;  that 
the  state  pays  for  the  work  done  in 
the  old  way.  That  he  dare  not  pull 
out  of  the  time-worn  rut  for  fear  he 
will  "lose  his  job."  Well,  some  men 
and  women  have  done  great  things 
even  in  the  face  of  starvation;  and 
some  men  and  some  women  will 
continue  to  serve  the  world  in  the 
face  of  danger.  It  is  much  braver  in 
the  light  of  today  to  declare  for  a 
new  truth  than  to  enlist  for  war.  The 
brave  man  will  decline  to  fight, 
knowing  that  fighting  of  any  kind  is 
wrong.  The  coward  follows  with  the 

17 


herd.  The  brave  man  will  step  out 
in  the  court  room  and  take  the  hand, 
figuratively  speaking,  of  the  ac- 
cused, the  coward  will  not  dare.  The 
brave  man  will  work  overtime  in  his 
study  to  develop  a  system  of  state 
policy  that  will  conserve  the  good  in 
the  race  and  the  individual  and  will 
"cut  out"  the  dead  order.  He  will 
not  hesitate  to  work  for  a  change 
even  in  the  stiff  leather-bound  code, 
if  his  conscience  commands. 

To  sum  it  up,  the  offender  of  today 
must  have  different  treatment  from 
that  which  satisfied  long  ago — we 
cannot  stand  for  the  old  order  of 
punishment.  If  the  law  calls  for  it 
— change  the  law.  Work  out  a  new 
system  that  will  satisfy  new  ideals. 
So  the  first  reason  against  practicing 
love  toward  the  criminal  we  will 
dispose  of  in  three  words :  "Change 
the  law,"  rather  than  uphold  one  out 
of  date.  The  other  great  cry  of  the 
old-time  thinker  is,  we  must  punish 
as  an  example,  for  fear  others  will 
do  likewise."  This  is  vicarious 
atonement,  and  was  popular  in  old 

18 


days  when  one  slave  was  whipped  to 
keep  the  others  straight.  We  cannot 
hold  to  it  today,  we  know  too  well 
the  value  of  each  individual  soul. 
We  value  too  highly  the  personal 
misson  of  each  being.  We  know  the 
great  depth  of  usefulness  that  lies  in 
the  soul  of  the  wrong-doer  if  he  is 
awakened  and  started  on  the  right 
track.  We  .need  only  to  look  to  the 
great  work  of  Jane  Addams  and  her 
followers  to  see  that  out  of  what  is 
called  "the  scum  of  Europe" — the 
unfit  and  often  criminal,  she  has 
brought  out  such  wonderful  things. 
She  has  found  histrionic  ability  so 
rare  in  her  people  of  the  "submerg- 
ed" class,  that  one  of  the  most  able 
troupes  of  Irish  players,  now  tour- 
ing in  their  native  country,  trace 
their  origin  back  to  the  "slums  of 
Chicago."  This  in  only  an  example 
mentioned,  the  talent,  gifts  and 
depths  of  thought  which  have  been 
brought  out  of  these  people  in  Miss 
Addams'  neighborhood  considered 
worthless  in  their  own  land  as  well 
as  in  America,  would  make  an  inter- 

19 


esting  volume,  but  she  rarely  writes 
of  her  achievements — a  soul  has  be- 
come useful  to  the  world  and  its  race 
—that  is  all  she  asks.  That  brings 
her  content  for  the  greatest  thing 
that  an  immortal  soul  can  accom- 
plish is  to  bring  out  the  latent  use- 
fulness in  the  souls  of  our  fellow- 
men. 


20 


III. 

The  conclusion  reached  from 
reading  the  last  two  articles  would 
be :  that  the  state,  in  the  light  of  its 
newer  ideals,  standing  as  father  to 
its  citizens,  should  change  its  pro- 
secutor to  a  defendant,  thus  provid- 
ing its  erring  children  with  a  friend 
and  following  the  constructive  plan 
of  Nature,  which  conserves  and 
uses  all  that  is  good  in  man. 

It  was  planned  to  devote  this 
chapter  to  the  discussion  of  the  mo- 
nopolizing part  played  in  life  by  the 
daily  struggle  to  exist  but  the  sugges- 
tion of  repealing  the  anti-capital 
punishment  law  brings  up  a  new 
subject.  If  we  are  afraid  to  go  for- 
ward we  will  tamper  with  this  new 
and  progressive  piece  of  legislation. 
The  idea  of  the  state  puting  a  being 
to  death  is  barbarous.  I  know  it  is 
a  savage  in  the  Lebanon  case,  (case 
of  negro  killing  a  white  citizen) ,  but 
even  a  savage  is  a  soul,  and  is  sent 
to  us  to  use  in  some  way. 

21 


As  we  know,  each  evolutionary 
step  at  first,  brings  disaster.  By  re- 
moving the  capital  punishment  law, 
we  have  ceased  to  try  to  rule  our 
citizens  through  fear  (any  educator 
will  tell  you  this  is  an  advance  step), 
fear  is  like  a  stone  over  a  boiling 
volcano  and  when  removed  shows 
the  fire  we  are  trying  to  extinguish. 
We  had  better  know  the  quality  of 
the  material  we  are  seeking  to 
smother  and  just  what  is  under 
cover  if  we  would  help  our  state. 

Education  and  patience  will  bring 
out  in  the  Negro  race  what  will  make 
good  citizens  of  them;  we  brought 
them  here  a  short  time  ago  in  chains 
to  work  for  us.  We  owe  them 
much.  Let  us  not  forget. 

Some  will  say  let  us  rule  them 
through  laws  that  create  fear  while 
they  are  in  the  savage  state  and 
after  they  have  changed  we  will 
change  the  law.  That  is  not  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  evolutionary  prin- 
ciple, nothing  grows  under  fear. 

Do  not  let  us  be  alarmed  over  the 
terrible  deeds  which  happen  after 

22 


our  steps  forward,  for  while  each 
movement  forward  removes  some- 
thing that  has  marred  the  race  and 
our  state — it  also  opens  new  prob- 
lems for  us  to  solve.  We  will  not 
solve  them  by  becoming  timid  and 
crawling  backward  into  old  shells. 
Be  brave  friends,  do  not  tamper 
with  a  piece  of  legislation  that 
should  be  the  pride  of  Tennessee, 
and  in  a  few  years  you  will  see  that 
this  is  true.  Be  brave  and  struggle 
forward  despite  the  obstacles  you 
meet  on  the  way. 

Some  say  when  women  speak 
through  the  ballot  there  will  be 
things  to  deplore;  this  is  improb- 
able, but  should  such  be  the  case,  to 
prevent  the  step  which  means  their 
growth  would  be  a  psychological 
crime. 

Our  state  is  climbing  towards  the 
Light. 

The  trouble  Jackson  is  having 
with  juvenile  delinquency  is  the 
same  old  thing.  We  have  passed  a 
law  which  keeps  us  from  confining 
the  children  in  jail  with  hardened 

23 


criminals,  we  certainly  do  not  want 
to  change  that.  Now  we  must 
handle  the  consequences,  which  as 
we  have  seen,  always  follow  a 
change.  The  remedy  for  the  trouble 
is  this:  We  must  have  a  school 
which  will  care  for  the  delinquent 
child  until  he  is  normal.  The  best 
teachers  we  can  find  should  be  in 
charge  of  this  school,  for  all  depends 
upon  the  personal  touch.  A  board- 
ing school  for  West  Tennessee  delin- 
quents. There  is  not  much  use  in  dis- 
cussing the  institutions  of  our  state, 
however,  as  long  as  there  is  personal 
ownership  in  business,  etc.,  the  state 
institutions  will  be  inadequate. 
State  ownership  in  all  lines  of  busi- 
ness will  solve  our  problems — for 
then  our  state  could  bloom  out  with 
all  remedies  necessary  to  cure  our 
ills. 


24 


IV. 

How  much  genius  lies  hidden 
under  the  daily  struggle  for  "a  liv- 
ing" will  be  known  only  when  that 
burden  is  lifted.  Then  and  then 
only  will  the  flowers  of  thought 
bloom  as  they  should,  then  and  then 
only  will  dreams  of  the  perfect  life 
come  true. 

Day  in  and  day  out  some  men  and 
women  know  nothing  but  toil  and 
sleep.  Worse  than  animal's  life; 
this  is  the  life  of  a  machine.  It  is  the 
entire  life  of  many.  Others  manage 
to  accumulate  by  middle  life  enough 
to  have  an  idle  hour  or  so  daily,  but 
it  is  too  late  to  mean  much  to  either 
themselves  or  their  state.  Is  there 
a  remedy  for  the  "daily  grind"  and 
the  joys  and  dreams  that  it  crushes? 
There  is.  It  is  perfect  co-operation 
of  every  unit  or  individual  of  a  state. 
This  can  only  be  brought  about  by 
state  ownership.  Perfect  co-opera- 
tion is  only  secured  when  all  work 
for  the  same  end. 

25 


Place  the  picture  of  a  perfected 
state  before  our  Tennesseans — let 
each  feel  that  he  has  a  share  in  mak- 
ing it  perfect,  let  each  feel  an  indi- 
vidual ownership,  let  each  draw 
from  it  his  existence,  let  the  state  ap- 
point his  hours  for  work,  his  hours 
for  leisure,  development  and  recrea- 
tion and  he  will  work  as  he  never 
worked  before,  study  political  and 
social  questions  as  he  never  studied 
before,  will  dance  and  sing  in  the 
public  parks  and  halls  like  a  child 
free  from  fear  of  what  tomorrow 
will  bring,  free  from  thought  of  self 
—knowing  that  he  has  only  to  do  his 
part  for  the  whole  state  and  life  and 
joy  abundant  is  his.  Oh,  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  personal,  selfish  struggle ! 
How  it  cramps  and  hampers!  It 
could  then  be  forgotten  and  real 
growth  and  beauty  of  soul  would  be- 
gin and  our  state  attain  its  true  per- 
fection. 

Think  what  it  would  mean  to  do 
away  with  competition  in  the  com- 
mercial world.  Competition  keeps 
alive  the  savage  instincts  in  the  race. 

26 


There  are  some  who  have  not  gotten 
above  the  savage  line  and  they  glory 
in  the  life.  It  is  a  strife  between 
brother  and  brother;  hours  are  con- 
sumed in  planning  to  draw  the 
crowd  and  the  money  our  way.  The 
strain  to  outdo  a  brother  is  wearing 
on  nerves  and  brain — and  in  the  end 
what?  A  life  spent  in  trying  to  get 
the  material  comforts,  with  scarcely 
time  to  think  of  the  higher  joys  that 
music,  art,  literature  or  the  contem- 
plation of  Nature  would  have 
brought. 

The  broadest  life  is  the  most  joy- 
ous life.  The  soul  that  is  least  per- 
sonal is  the  greatest  soul.  The  prac- 
tical way  to  attain  this  broad  life, 
this  great  soul,  is  to  believe  in  and 
work  for  state  ownership. 

Would  we  like  our  mail  handled 
by  corporations  or  individuals?  No. 
Then  why  do  we  permit  our  rail- 
roads, our  groceries,  our  clothing  to 
be? 

Has  any  one  thing  done  more  for 
humanity  than  the  education  of  the 
child  by  the  state?  Then  why  not 

27 


have  the  sick  treated  and  nursed  by 
officers  of  the  state?  Public  parks 
with  music  and  dancing  pavilions, 
public  automobiles  and  street  cars, 
art  galleries  and  caffetieres. 

Why  do  corporations  and  individ- 
uals wish  to  hold  on  to  the  various 
enterprises  when  they  would  have 
all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life 
with  more  ease  than  they  have  to- 
day? Their  hours  of  work  would  be 
regulated  by  the  state  and  their 
only  responsibility  would  be  to  do 
the  state's  work  well. 

State  ownership  would  give  all  an 
opportunity.  State  education  pre- 
pares all  for  the  various  occupa- 
tions. State  amusements  would  give 
each  community  a  chance  to  become 
harmonious  for  it  is  in  the  natural 
joy  hours  that  souls  flow  into  each 
other. 

The  problems  of  handling  the 
mail  and  of  educating  the  children 
has  been  solved,  the  other  branches 
of  life  can  be  just  as  easily  managed. 
We  would  not  go  back  to  the  old 
way  with  either  the  letters  or  the 

28 


children,  and  when  once  tried  we 
would  not  let  our  food,  clothing, 
means  of  transportation,  shelter  or 
amusement  pass  back  into  the  old 
personal  ownership. 

One  hundred  good,  live  young  men 
and  one  hundred  interested  women 
could  bring  Tennessee  into  this  state 
of  mind  if  they  would  work  to  that 
end.  Oh,  what  an  achievement  that 
would  be !  No  poverty,  no  crime,  for 
there  would  be  no  opportunity  for 
idleness  or  cause  to  commit  theft- 
each  unit  would  be  compelled  to  do 
his  part  or  go  elsewhere  where 
another  system  obtained.  There 
would  be  different  grades  of  work 
as  there  are  grades  in  the  school  and 
men  and  women  who  desired  and 
were  fitted  for  higher  places  would 
advance. 

How  great  it  would  be  to  have  our 
little  state  first  to  adopt  the  new 
method  of  government.  Why  do  we 
want  these  ideas  adopted  by  de- 
grees? (they  are  sure  to  be  advanc- 
ed with  each  meeting  of  the  legisla- 
ture that  grants  a  pension  for  this 

29 


and  a  pension  for  that)  when  a  re- 
organizing through  and  through  by 
some  master  statesman  would  bring 
heaven  to  us  at  a  bound. 

Can  we  not  find  a  leader  who  will 
so  inspire  our  people  with  trust  and 
love  that  fhey  will  be  willing  to 
place  in  his  hands  the  right  to  re- 
organize and  re-construct  our  state 
along  modern  lines? 


30 


V. 

In  last  article  a  plea  was  made 
for  state  ownership.  We  will  now 
look  upon  it  from  different  view 
points. 

The  Commercial  View. 
We  know  that  what  is  called  "big 
business"  is  far  in  advance  of  "little 
business";  we  know  that  after  con- 
solidation the  same  amount  of  busi- 
ness may  be  done  with  much  less  ex- 
pense and  work,  yet  fear  has  taken 
possession  of  us  and  we  cry  "down 
with  big  business,  back  to  the  old 
ways."  Why  not  make  the  cry  "on- 
ward another  step,"  and  have  the 
state  buy  in  the  organizations?  This 
would  be  real  progress.  It  is  a  shame 
to  destroy  the  wonderful  mechanism 
of  a  gigantic  corporation.  It  is  really 
a  beautiful  structure  and  represents 
the  brain  and  brawn  and  hours  of 
toil  of  some  of  our  most  talented 
men.  It  is  the  output  of  soul  force 
and  should  be  registered  "good." 

31 


Good,  but  not  complete.  Not  finish- 
ed, while  one  man  or  several  hold 
the  whip  over  others.  Not  perfect, 
while  prices  and  hours  of  work  and 
the  benefits  that  all  should  enjoy  do 
not  radiate  from  a  center  common  to 
all — the  state.  "Big  Business"  means 
that  the  very  best  that  can  be  secur- 
ed has  been  selected  and  bound  into 
a  whole;  the  step  to  perfect  it  for 
the  use  of  humanity  is  to  have  all 
"big  business"  owned  by  the  state. 
Not  regulated,  but  literally  possess- 
ed by  the  people's  state. 

2.  The  Political  Viewpoint. 
Such  a  state  will  have  no  political 
parties.  We  have  heard  often  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  do  without 
parties  in  politics.  Well,  party  poli- 
tics is  about  one  of  the  oldest,  most 
threadbare  things  we  cling  to.  Why 
in  the  world  we  do  cling  to  the  meth- 
od, is  hard  to  understand.  By  the 
time  women  get  the  ballot,  civil  ser- 
vice examinations  will  have  taken 
the  place  of  the  elections  and  the 
ballot  not  used  except  for  choosing 
rules.  From  the  governor  or  head 
32 


commissioner  down  to  the  most 
humble  official,  applications  and  ex- 
aminations will  take  the  place  of 
elections  and  appointments.  There 
can  be  no  graft  worked  because  the 
examiners  and  judges  will  have  just 
what  the  state  allows  them  for  ser- 
vices and  no  more. 

3.  The  Religious  Viewpoint. 
To  think  of  others  before  self  is 
certainly  the  Christ  life.  And  where 
state  ownership  prevailed  the 
thought  would  all  be  for  others  or 
the  good  of  the  entire  state,  so  there 
would  be  no  chance  whatever  for 
selfishness.  One  can  readily  see  it 
was  the  plan  the  Master  had  in  mind 
when  He  made  His  two  rules  for  the 
perfect  kingdom:  (1)  Love  for  the 
best  and  highest;  (2)  Love  for  oth- 
ers. The  kingdom  of  heaven  being 
within  each  soul,  it  is  necessary  that 
it  be  manifested  on  earth,  and  state 
ownership  bringing  a  condition  op- 
posed to  the  selfish  or  personal 
life,  meaning  a  life  lived  daily  for 
others,  is  the  practical  way  to  mani- 
fest this  kingdom. 
33 


4.     The  Social  Viewpoint. 

Some  one  said: 

"None  will  be  perfectly  healthy 
until  all  have  health;  none  will  be 
perfectly  pure  until  all  are  pure; 
none  will  be  perfectly  happy  until 
all  are  content." 

We  know  that  good  and  bad  bod- 
ily conditions  are  contagious,  just  as 
good  and  bad  mental  states  are  con- 
tagious. There  is  a  constant  ex- 
change on  both  physical  and  mental 
planes,  a  constant  flowing  in  and 
out,  from  individual,  to  individual. 
So  of  course  one  cannot  be  perfectly 
well  until  all  have  health. 

It  is  as  necessary  to  our  health 
that  the  homes  of  our  cooks,  nurses 
and  washwomen  be  sanitary  and 
comfortable  as  that  our  own  are  in 
proper  condition. 

"That  none  can  be  perfectly  pure 
until  all  are  pure,"  is  equally  true 
for  the  interchange  of  thought  and 
influence  is  more  real  and  powerful 
than  the  physical  contamination. 

"That  none  can  be  perfectly  hap- 
py until  all  are  happy,"  is  a  truism, 

34 


for  we  all  are  affected  by  the  scenes 
of  poverty,  sickness  and  unhappi- 
ness  that  we  see  around  us.  When 
there  is  no  poverty,  when  the  sick 
are  scientifically  ministered  to,  when 
all  have  opportunity  for  joy,  scenes 
of  unhappiness  will  be  things  of  the 
past.  Crime  causes  much  sorrow. 
When  humanity  has  what  it  wants, 
food,  shelter,  employment,  amuse- 
ment and  laws  which  make  way  for 
the  outlet  of  natural  joys,  there  will 
be  no  crime;  all  this  we  expect  to 
have  under  the  new  system. 

The  Domestic  Viewpoint. 
The  minds  of  both  man  and  wom- 
an will  be  fixed  upon  the  ideal 
state  and  the  part  they  are  to  play 
therein.  This  will  make  for  har- 
mony and  content  in  homes.  There 
will  be  no  time  to  think  of  the  little 
shortcomings  that  each  may  have. 
It  will  be  a  constant  putting  their 
heads  together  and  planning  for 
something  that  will  advance  the 
state;  this  will  bring  perfected 
sympathy.  Plans  made  together  at 
night  to  execute  next  day — busy  and 
35 


happy  because  it  will  mean  more 
happiness  for  others.  In  this  state 
mothers  will  draw  their  compensa- 
tion from  the  government,  for  their 
work  is  the  most  essential  work  of 
all  citizens.  There  will  be  no  wants 
unsupplied  and  no  thought  of  one 
family  trying  to  eclipse  another,  as 
each  will  regard  the  other  as  a  nec- 
essary part  of  the  whole. 

So  we  see  how  commercially,  po- 
litically, socially,  religiously  and  in 
the  domestic  life  this  system  shows 
its  superiority  over  the  old  one  now 
in  practice. 


VI. 

The  sociological  psychology  of 
Germany  is  very  unique.  The  polit- 
ical construction  of  the  nation  is 
mysterious  and  almost  incompre- 
hensible. The  fact  is  it  is  a  dual 
people.  The  home-loving,  tranquil, 
music-loving  people  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  feudal,  aggressive  lords, 
rulers  and  land  owners  on  the  other. 

Education  in  Germany  is  more 
general  than  in  any  other  country; 
college  education  of  the  masses, 
common  rather  than  rare.  This  gives 
strength  and  substantiality  to  the 
whole  nation,  it  makes  a  dependable 
people.  Underneath  the  upper 
crust  of  feudalism  there  is  a  people 
wonderful  in  their  strength  and 
power,  but  a  people  feeling  that  as 
yet  they  must  for  the  sake  of  the 
state  they  love  be  subservient  to  the 
head.  They  have  not  yet  seen  the 
way  to  the  full  completion  of  better 
things. 

There  is  no  country  on  our  globe 

37 


where  more  social  legislation  has; 
been  enacted.  Underneath  the  hard 
adamantive  crust,  that  prevents  its 
bursting  into  light  and  power, 
grows  and  lives  an  almost  perfect 
world. 

In  our  country,  America,  the  po- 
litical philosophy  allows  every  one 
to  do  very  much  as  he  pleases.  In 
Germany  the  common  good  is  a  mat- 
ter of  constant  concern.  State  po- 
sitions are  highly  prized,  are  remun- 
erative, carry  dignity  and  social  po- 
sition and  a  pension  on  retirement. 
The  state  is  the  greatest  of  all  agen- 
cies of  service.  We  emphasize  the 
rights  of  the  individual  in  our  pres- 
ent government,  his  property  and 
rights  are  jealously  protected  by  our 
constitution  and  laws.  It  is  assumed 
that  the  state  should  have  as  little  as 
possible  to  do  with  business  and  that 
all  industries  should  be  left  to  pri- 
vate enterprise.  This  is  a  philoso- 
phy born  of  pioneer  conditions  and 
we  still  cling  to  it.  In  Germany  even 
despite  the  hard  feudal  crust  the 
people  have  outgrown  us.  The  field 

38 


of  socialism  in  Germany  is  being 
constantly  extended.  At  present  all 
forms  of  transportation  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  state,  railways,  canals, 
waterways,  docks,  harbors,  tele- 
graph, telephones  and  express.  Coal, 
iron  and  potash  mines  are  operated, 
while  many  great  forests  and  agri- 
cultural lands  are  owned  by  states 
and  cities.  There  are  state  printing 
works  and  banks  yielding  splendid 
revenues  to  the  state — the  printing 
works  in  1913  contributed  $800,000. 
Oh,  if  the  remnant  of  the  feudal  sys- 
tem could  but  melt  away  under  the 
warm,  common  interest  that  the  peo- 
ple in  Germany  feel,  what  a  glorious 
country  that  would  be!  But,  no,  it 
remains  to  America  to  be  the  beacon 
light.  Germany  has  made  its  mis- 
take in  beginning  at  the  wrong  end 
and  it  seems  very  much  like  she 
would  lose  her  all. 

The  crown  and  the  nobles  or  big 
land  owners  and  capitalists  have  al- 
ways been  in  harmony  in  Germany, 
(this  is  unlike  England  where  they 
are  often  in  disputes),  hence  the 

39 


great  strength  and  power  to  com- 
mand and  rule  the  people.  The  great 
ideals  held  by  the  people  can  be  only 
half  expressed  on  account  of  the  iron 
relic  of  feudalism  that  stands  in  the 
way.  If  the  crown  and  land  owners 
cry  "fight,"  fight  the  people  must; 
though  their  hearts  be  by  their  fire- 
side where  music  and  love  dwell. 

One  of  the  great  sources  of  the 
strength  of  the  German  people,  as 
we  have  said,  is  that  all  are  educat- 
ed. Vocational  training  is  given  to 
all.  Farming  and  city  planning  are 
taught  as  well  as  training  for  all 
state  positions.  No  one  is  allowed  to 
step  into  a  state  or  municipal  office 
without  being  duly  prepared  and  his 
qualifications  ascertained  by  exam- 
ination. 

The  care  Germany  takes  of  her 
aged,  her  unfit,  the  methods  she  uses 
for  her  unemployed,  the  laws  for 
protecting  her  laborers  in  industry, 
the  mothers  of  children,  all  should 
be  lessons  to  other  countries  that  are 
less  thoughtful  of  humanity  and 
more  backward  in  philanthropic 

ideals. 

40 


With  all  her  beauties  and  wonder- 
ful achievements  we  may  far  out- 
shine Germany  and  become  perfect- 
ed as  a  state  if  we  can  but  convince 
the  public  that  a  common  interest  in 
all  things,  that  a  common  ownership 
and  a  mutual  enjoyment  of  all  bless- 
ings radiating  from  the  state  is  the 
heighth  of  good  government  and  the 
zenith  of  human  happiness. 

The  very  fact  that  Germany  has 
placed  so  much  in  the  hands  of  the 
state  which  in  her  case  means  in  the 
hands  of  her  ruler  gives  more  pow- 
er to  that  ruler  to  use  for  weal  or 
woe.  All  telegraphs,  railroads,  etc., 
may  be  used  at  will.  In  our  case 
such  instruments  would  be  not  the 
crown's,  but  the  people's,  and  the 
people's  voice  alone  could  command 
their  action. 

Let  us  take  the  example  of  Ger- 
many's wonderful  people  and  adopt 
lheir  methods  of  government  and 
education;  we  that  are  not  afflicted 
with  the  oppression  of  crowned 
heads  that  have  handicapped  her 
best  efforts,  and  grow  into  a  won- 
derful power  and  example  that  the 
whole  world  will  rejoice  to  imitate. 

41 


VII. 

When  we  speak  of  state  owner- 
ship immediately  a  cry  goes  up, 
"Oh,  that  is  Socialism  and  Socialism 
is  anarchy  and  that  means  free 
love,"  and  everything  dreadful. 

Are  we  too  busy  in  this  workaday 
world  to  stop  and  get  a  clear  idea  of 
terms? 

Anarchy  means  violence  against 
the  state. 

Socialism  means  love  for  the  state. 

An  anarchist  is  an  individual  who 
wants  his  own  individual  way  so 
badly  that  he  will  throw  a  bomb  to 
get  it. 

A  Socialist  is  an  individual  who 
loves  his  neighbor  as  himself— 
wants  to  see  the  community  or  state 
prosper  even  if  he  makes  sacrifices 
himself. 

Anarchy  means  no  law  or  order; 
Socialism,  the  highest  law  and  order. 
They  are  exactly  opposite  in  mean- 
ing— so  do  not  let  us  display  ignor- 
ance by  making  the  ridiculous  state- 

42 


ment  that  any  similiarity  exists  be- 
tween them. 

Then  when  we  say,  "Oh,  Socialists 
believe  in  'free  love,'  "  that  is  also  an 
absurdity.  Love,  whether  "free"  or 
"tied  up,"  is  a  private  matter  and  for 
the  individual  to  decide;  and  wheth- 
er he  believes  in  its  freedom  of  ex- 
pression or  smothering  it  for  the 
sake  of  conventionality,  has  nothing 
to  do  with  whether  he  is  a  Democrat, 
Republican  or  Socialist. 

The  Socialist  is  one  who  advocates 
the  birth  of  children  and  stands  for 
their  proper  care  and  upbringing — 
and  as  the  home  at  present  is  the 
best  place  to  achieve  this  end — the 
Socialist  advocates  the  peaceful,  in- 
telligently ordered  home.  The 
Socialist  deplores  the  fact  that  so. 
many  young  men  on  account  of  low 
wages  and  the  struggle  it  takes  to 
maintain  a  family,  are  deprived  of 
creating  a  home  and  believes  under 
a  new  system  more  citizens  would 
be  created  and  far  less  waste  of  life 
be  perpetrated. 

There  will  be  a  more  sane  and 

43 


higher  type  of  mating  when  the  con- 
sideration of  the  whole  state  takes 
the  place  of  individual  rights.  There 
will  be  fewer  marriages  for  a  sup- 
port. We  will  found  our  love  upon 
similarity  of  tastes,  we  will  love 
those  who  "love  the  things  we  love," 
rather  than  be  drawn  by  some  per- 
sonal pectilarity.  Those  interested 
in  forestry  and  gardening  will  form 
a  contract  to  live  and  work  together 
for  the  beautifying  of  the  state  in 
that  line;  those  interested  in  writing 
books  or  making  speeches  on  latest 
discoveries  in  statesmanship  will 
wish  to  spend  their  lives  together, 
etc.,  so  there  will  be  closer  bonds 
than  now  exist  where  the  man  is 
money-maker  and  the  woman  house- 
keeper. Housekeeping  has  become 
so  simplified  that  it  cannot  absorb  a 
woman's  entire  energy.  Woman 
has  ceased  to  be  satisfied  with 
the  role  of  queen  or  toy  or  squaw; 
she  must  be  comrade  and  friend 
and  an  equal  partner  and  thinker. 
If  she  is  not  this,  there  will  be  un- 
happiness,  dissatisfaction,  incom- 

44 


peteness.  H.  G.  Well's  novel,  "The 
Passionate  Friends"  is  a  wonderful 
picture  of  the  yearnings  of  the  wo- 
man of  today.  She  is  going  through 
a  rather  painful  step  in  her  evolu- 
tion. She  longs  and  feels  the  desire 
to  be  individualized,  yet  there  is 
tugging  at  her  all  the  old  traditional 
training  of  primitive  woman.  The 
woman  in  the  business  world  often 
feels  that  she  would  give  up  all  for 
a  home  and  the  woman  in  the  home 
feels  a  longing  for  a  real  partnership 
in  her  husband's  affairs  Or  this 
energy  has  no  special  end  in  view 
and  is  wasted  in  affairs  of  vanity 
and  trying  to  build  up  a  machine  to 
sustain  her  popularity  in  society. 

Wider,  deeper,  more  beautiful  in- 
terests will  fill  our  lives  and  loves 
when  state  ownership  prevails.  We 
need  not  fear  that  passion  will  run 
riot — quite  the  reverse  will  take 
place.  There  will  be  openness  and 
sincerity  and  the  spirit  of  life,  rath- 
er than  the  mere  letter  and  form, 
will  be  respected. 

Those  who  have  branded  Social- 
45 


ism  with  the  "free  love"  theory  have 
been  paid  opponents,  and  we  sup- 
pose their  foundation  was  that 
Socialists  pride  themselves  on  sin- 
cerity and  cry  out  for  a  right  ad- 
justment of  affairs  rather  than  de- 
ceit and  hypocracy;  and  all  who 
know  anything  of  life  know  of  the 
"under  the  surface"  practices  that 
abound  today. 

Not  the  Socialists  but  the  "powers 
that  be"  in  Europe  are  clamoring 
for  free  and  unhampered  living  be- 
tween men  and  women,  that  child- 
ren may  be  born  to  feed  the  war  god. 
But  that  is  in  keeping  with  war. 

The  Socialist  believes  not  in  war 
or  in  excess  of  passion,  but  in  peace- 
ful citizenship,  arbitration,  open 
life,  pure  love  and  carefully  cared 
for  children. 


46 


VIII. 

"To  give  according  to  one's  abili- 
ty; to  receive  according  to  one's 
need." 

This  is  the  motto  of  the  new  state. 
Some  will  exclaim:  "Yes,  and  we 
will  be  taking  care  of  all  the  idle 
and  worthless."  Not  at  all.  The 
need  of  one  may  be  to  be  put  to 
work;  the  need  of  another  may  be 
education  or  vocational  training;  the 
need  of  another  to  be  sent  to  a  san- 
itarium. No  idlers  will  be  tolerated; 
the  unfit  will  be  made  fit  or  they  will 
find  no  congeniality  in  this  state. 

What  we  are  all  wanting  to  find 
is  a  way  to  help  others,  that  is  really 
helpful  to  others.  We  are  trying  this 
in  a  helter,  skelter  way  that  is  a  fail- 
ure. Anyone  who  has  worked  in  any 
charity  organization  for  a  while  and 
given  a  barrel  of  flour  here  and  a 
ton  of  coal  there,  a  few  dollars  to 
be  expended  as  the  donee  desires, 
knows  that  there  is  really  no  good 
done — the  poor  are  just  as  poor 

47 


after  such  gifts  and  are  more  help- 
less. "It  were  good  that  there  were 
no  poor,"  says  St.  Augustine,  and 
that  is  exactly  the  state  we  wish  to 
create.  We  have  all  along  been  mis- 
interpreting the  Master's  words, 
"the  poor  you  have  with  you,  al- 
ways"— begin  work  to  do  away  with 
poverty  and  we  will  find  the  exact 
meaning  of  His  words;  many  phras- 
es in  the  Bible  are  not  understood 
because  we  have  not  the  divine  light 
to  see; — so  do  not  let  us  rest  on  our 
oars  and  claim  that  we  understand 
yet.  We  will  have  the  poor  as  long 
as  we  are  content  with  the  Light  we 
now  live  up  to — that  is  certain. 

State  ownership  pre-supposes  a 
high  degree  of  understanding  and 
development.  It  will  not  prevail 
with  those  who  are  yet  swamped  in 
the  ideals  of  the  savage.  "To  get, 
to  have,  to  hold,"  belongs  to  a  race 
of  people  that  we  are  supposed  to 
have  left  behind.  We  teach  our 
children  in  the  Sunday  school  and 
school  by  precept  to  be  unselfish — 
we  preach  the  community  spirit  and 

48 


when  they  look  out  from  the  school 
room  what  do  they  see?  In  the  com- 
mercial world,  in  the  political  world, 
in  the  social  world,  in  the  religious 
world,  in  the  domestic  world — 
everyone  fighting  for  their  own 
rights.  The  unselfishness  that  is 
practiced  is  that  which  bursts 
through  the  code  and  comes  as  a 
fresh  impulse  of  the  soul  despite 
our  systems.  The  growth  to  higher 
things  is  going  on  in  the  soul  of  man 
and  we  should  arrange  our  state  ac- 
cordingly. Yes,  we  really  want  to 
help  others, — we  know  it  is  foolish 
to  hoard  more  than  makes  us  com- 
fortable, we  feel  that  we  want  all  to 
be  comfortable,  to  have  fires  in  win- 
ter, ice  in  summer,  food,  clothing 
and  some  joy  hours,  then  why  not 
found  our  state  upon  these  lines?  If 
we  do  not  embody  our  ideals  in  state 
policy  we  cannot  enjoy  their  benefits 
or  make  them  practicable.  Unless 
we  make  the  state  the  great  receiv- 
ing heart  of  all  good  things,  that 
may  in  turn  pump  out  its  blessings 
to  the  people,  we  will  not  have  a 

49 


prototype  of  God  on  earth.  We  cry 
to  God  for  all  we  need,  but  first 
we  must  give  Him  all  He  requires. 
Let  us  follow  up  this  figure  of 
speech.  Suppose  there  is  a  wonder- 
fully organized  State  Health  Com- 
mission that  at  the  first  intimation 
of  sickness  of  a  citizen  sends  phy- 
sician and  nurse  and  medicine  suffi- 
cient for  cure?  Would  not  this  be 
like  Providence  stepping  in  at  the 
opportune  moment?  Of  course  each 
citizen  would  have  contributed  his 
mite  to  the  commission  yearly.  This 
makes  the  Public  Health  really  a 
matter  of  public  concern  and  con- 
verts what  we  call  a  private  citizen 
into  a  public  one.  Nothing  makes 
for  the  strength  of  a  state  so  much 
as  the  co-operative  interest  of  the  in- 
dividual units. 

Australia  is  baking  all  bread  for 
its  people.  A  wonderful  success  this 
has  proved.  The  people  get  bread 
at  half  former  cost  and  the  state 
has  a  revenue. 

As  good  as  these  bits  of  state-own- 
ership have  proved  to  be,  it  is  not 

50 


the  wisest  plan  to  let  them  creep  in 
one  at  a  time.  The  entire  state 
should  be  reconstructed  along  mod- 
ern lines  to  make  the  system  safe 
and  sound.  To  the  capital  should 
be  summoned  at  least  one  hundred 
leading  men  and  women — property 
owners,  laborers,  statesmen  and  bus- 
iness men;  and  a  great  Industrial 
Commission  formed  by  combining 
the  minds  of  the  classes  represented. 
This  Industrial  Commission  to  be 
subdivided  into  Capital,  Labor, 
Statecraft.  (This  Industrial  Com- 
mission would  thresh  out  the  State- 
owner-ship  problem.)  This  great 
gathering  or  convention  would  rep- 
resent the  welfare  of  the  entire  state 
—no  party  affair,  no  time  or  brain 
wasted  in  trying  to  outwit  an  un- 
friendly faction,  but  an  open  dis- 
cussion of  the  entire  state's  interest. 
"United  we  stand,  divided  we  fall." 
Our  divisions  and  "pulling  apart" 
attitudes  have  kept  us  in  a  tottering 
condition  so  long  that  to  get  into  a 
sober,  brotherly  mood  would  be  so 
novel  and  peaceful  that  we  would 

51 


not  know  ourselves.  If  we  do  not 
think  we  are  being  fought  against 
we  soon  lose  the  desire  to  fight,  and 
if  we  can  destroy  the  fear  that  just 
outside  the  closed  door  of  a  party 
convention  there  is  another  party 
planning  our  downfall  we  will  have 
gained  much. 

State  ownership,  officials  chosen 
by  examination  and  not  by  ballot,  a 
strong  recall  law,  and  we  could 
start  things  to  moving  on  a  plane  one 
degree  nearer  heaven,  anyway. 

Why  do  we  cling  so  tenaciously  to 
old  forms?  Why  do  we  plod  along 
in  old  ruts?  In  them  we  have  found 
political  strife  and  commercial  war- 
fare. We  preach  against  selfism  yet 
we  continue  to  plod  its  road.  All 
nature  around  us  calls  upon  us  to 
give.  We  must  learn  the  lesson.  If 
we  do  not  give  cheerfully,  that  which 
we  treasure  passes  from  our  grasp; 
so  it  were  better  that  we  step  for- 
ward into  the  light  and  offer  up  our 
possessions  to  make  the  whole  com- 
plete. "Service  not  gain"  is  the  high- 
est order  of  life,  let  us  school  our- 

52 


selves    to   become    at   home   in    its 
ranks. 

That  State  or  Nation  is  strongest, 
that  has  the  greatest  number  of  well 
educated,  public  citizens.  Each  child 
under  the  state  system  will  receive 
an  education;  each  citizen  may  be 
converted  from  a  private,  selfish 
citizen  into  a  public  one  by  adopting 
the  new  state  policy  of  state  owner- 
ship, and  when  all  private  citizens 
are  changed  into  public  ones  the 
Golden  Rule  has  come  true.  In  that 
time  we  will  hate  war  so  that  we 
will  not  let  it  come  near  us,  we  will 
love  peace;  we  will  hate  idleness 
and  love  work;  we  will  turn  from 
self-indulgence  and  study  statecraft; 
we  will  form  a  state  abounding  in 
wonderful  state  institutions  and 
magnificent  state  industries;  a  state 
that  will  be  our  pride,  our  joy,  our 
stronghold. 


53 


A  LAST  WORD. 

In  the  new  state  there  will  be  no 
anxiety  about  sickness  or  old  age;  no 
fear  that  children  will  not  be  cared 
for  and  educated. 

There  will  be  no  slums,  no  unsani- 
tary houses,  no  cheap  factories. 

There  will  be  good  roads,  electric 
cars  all  over  state,  public  clubs, 
parks,  gardens,  schools,  sanatori- 
ums,  music  and  lectures. 

Self-gratification  will  be  express- 
ed in  self-development,  not  dissipa- 
tion. 

Self-realization  in  service,  not 
gain. 

You  will  pay  the  municipality  for 
rent  of  home. 

If  a  farmer,  you  will  pay  state  for 
land,  and  rent  will  come  back  to  you 
in  highways,  public  telephones,  elec- 
tric cars,  etc. 

If  a  merchant,  you  will  become  a 
member  of  the  state  distributing 
service.  Your  rise  will  be  according 
to  your  worth,  you  will  have  security 

54 


for  living,  an  assured  old  age,  short- 
er hours,  more  freedom,  greater 
opportunity. 

If  a  mother,  you  will  have  an  in- 
dividual income  from  state  in  pro- 
portion to  number  of  children. 

A  physician  will  be  an  honored 
member  of  the  great  public  system 
for  maintaining  health. 

A  lawyer,  while  no  private  solici- 
tor will  be  needed,  the  state  will  be 
his  field  and  points  of  state  organi- 
zation and  adjustment  his  occupa- 
tion. 

An  artist  will  compete  with  the 
world  through  national  critics  and 
galleries;  if  he  finds  he  is  not  com- 
petent, schools  will  be  open  to  him 
and  work  until  he  is  proficient. 

A  cook  will  be  scientifically  train- 
ed, a  master  of  pure  food  prepara- 
tion, heads  of  public  kitchens,  from 
which  neighborhood  meals  will  be 
served  if  desired. 

To  the  laborer  or  one  having  "a 
boss"  we  would  say :  that  the  dignity 
of  his  position  will  be  increased  one 
hundred  fold;  by  working  for  the 

55 


State  and  having  a  real  living  inter- 
est in  all  industries  he  can  assist  in 
regulating  hours,  safety,  etc.,  re- 
garding his  daily  task.  There  is  an 
ego  within  each  of  us,  that  wants  its 
own  voice  in  its  own  work,  and  it 
matters  not  how  good,  how  kind  the 
master  the  fact  that  there  is  a 
master  (perhaps  a  benefactor) 
makes  an  uneasiness  within  the  in- 
dividual breast. 

The  capitalist  or  landowner  will 
perhaps  not  be  bothered  with  tracts 
of  land,  but  will  become  joint  owner 
with  fellowmen  in  his  state,  and  a 
happier  citizen. 

So  our  state  becomes  an  orderly 
working  organization  in  which  all 
its  citizens  play  an  active,  happy 
part. 

Friend,  do  you  not  like  the  no- 
bility of  the  system? 

Are  you  not  tired  of  the  old  po- 
litical methods,  that  require  that 
you  scheme  and  plan  behind  a 
brother's  back  to  win?  Are  you  not 
weary  of  the  strain  that  the  old  com- 
mercial methods  place  upon  you? 

56 


Planning  at  night  to  advertise  goods 
cheaper  than  your  brother  in  the 
morning? 

Mr.  Ford  is  a  capitalist.  He  longs 
to  divide  with  humanity  his  im- 
mense income.  How  very  simple  it 
would  all  be  if  he  would  sell  out  for 
a  nominal  sum  to  Uncle  Sam.  With 
Mr.  Ford  as  manager  the  business 
would  continue  to  prosper,  but 
Uncle  Sam  would  be  the  distributing 
power  and  we  would  see  the  great 
pile  of  dollars  converted  into  won- 
derful school  buildings  with  free 
lunch  rooms  for  the  children,  or 
jitney  Fords  that  would  carry  them 
lo  the  county  high  school  or  beauti- 
ful flower  gardens  along  the  public 
highways. 

To  socialize  a  state  is  to  make  it 
one  in  policy  and  the  property  of 
the  people.  No  political  parties,  no 
personal  commercial  centers  prevail 
in  the  really  socialized  state.  So  do 
not  confuse  the  term  "socialize" 
with  any  party — it  is  the  only  term 
that  can  be  used  to  convey  the  unity 
conceived.  The  Democratic  or  Re- 

57 


publican  party  might  adopt  state 
ownership  in  its  platform,  but  lit 
will  not  be  effectual,  any  more  than 
it  has  been  in  the  Socialist  party, 
until  they  give  up  the  ballot  and 
adopt  examination  for  office  hold- 
ers. It  just  happens  that  the  Social- 
ist party,  being  a  new  organization, 
has  adopted  some  of  the  latest,  most 
improved  methods  of  government — 
so  it  will  do  no  harm  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  state  as  a  whole  to 
acknowledge  that  they  have  brought 
forward  this  good  plan.  We  are  in 
nowise  going  over  to  them,  but 
simply  bringing  part  of  their  plat- 
form over  to  us. 

This  new  state  policy  was  a  lead- 
ing topic  of  discussion  in  our  last 
century;  it  will  be  the  leading  one 
in  this.  And  adopted  by  all  long 
before  its  close. 

The  term  state  is  used  in  a  gen- 
eral way.  National  ownership  and 
municipal  ownership  will  be  adopt- 
ed in  cases  where  more  expedient 
than  state  ownership. 

Let  us  stand  for  a  moment  on  the 

58 


outside  of  all  parties  and  see  our 
state  the  center  of  justice  and  har- 
mony, the  property  of  its  citizens 
instead  of  a  battleground  of  in- 
dustrial and  political  fighters;  get- 
ting the  vision  well  into  our  souls 
let  us  hasten  to  bring  about  its  ma- 
terialization. 


59 


University  of  California  Library 
Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


liCll; 


SEP  1  6 

DUE  2  WKS  FROM  DA 


21)04 


UCLA  ACCESS  SRVICES 
Interlibrary  Loan 
:  '630  University 
x  °51575 


00  X72M 


fABLE 


E  RECEIVED 


Research  Library 
0035-1575 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000  084  538     8 


Univer 

Sou 

Lil 


